Three-dimensional thermoformed structures have long been a part of product design, and three-dimensional printing is becoming more and more popular, along with computer-aided design and software tools. Some applications which use three-dimensional thermoformed shapes on promotional materials, such as banners and labels for containers, have been conceived. A three-dimensional shape is more interesting and captures the viewer's attention more easily than does a flat two-dimensional structure; this is valuable in marketing and aesthetics.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,023,872 to Falkenstein, Sr., discloses a promotional display banner made from a flexible material that includes a raised region with a predetermined shape, which may be rolled up for storage or transport. This provides a weatherproof and large-dimensioned product for displaying promotions or advertisements, but since the banner material is flexible, it must be anchored to the display site by grommets and rope or cord at the outer edges of the base sheet to prevent the banner from fluttering in the wind. Perhaps, if the banner were constructed from a more permanent rigid material, it would not need to employ grommets and rope or cord, which are limited methods for attachment compared to an adhesive layer that would allow the banner to adhere to a multitude of flat display surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,857,211 to Grasso discloses a three-dimensional label for a container, formed in a solid modeling software program such as 3-D studio or Corel. Like U.S. Pat. No. 6,023,872, the Grasso patent also teaches the printing of the template or image on a flexible material, which is able to wrap around the curved surface of a bottle. It is apparent that Grasso has not contemplated the nuances associated with employing a rigid material, because a rigid material would not wrap around the curved surface of a bottle. In Grasso, adhesive is applied only on the flat portion of the label, and not underneath the entire label. In other words, there is no adhesive under the raised or three-dimensional structure of the label, nor is there any support to help the label maintain its shape should the label be peeled away from the container. This restricts the invention to one-time use applications, and therefore the invention does not relate to reusable labels for containers. Also, the invention disclosed by Grasso is not suitable for larger dimensioned applications such as an entire store window, since the three-dimensional structure lacks support beneath the raised three-dimensional area.
The invention of Grasso, like the invention of Falkenstein, Sr., teaches printing the media to be displayed on a flexible material, one that is not capable of providing the support needed by the three-dimensional structure for long-term use in outdoor environments.
What is needed, therefore, is a novel invention that incorporates a more rigid structure for displaying images and is designed to support three-dimensional shapes while having better characteristics, such as being repositionable, or being capable of integration with electronics, such as a light or speaker contained within an elevated region that may be operated via a wireless remote. Such a solution is offered by the present invention in the form of a novel three-dimensional sticker supported by rigid thermoformable layers that can retain the sticker's three-dimensional shape even while being repositioned again and again. Electronics may be pre-applied to a display surface or may be contained within an elevated region of the three-dimensional structure, and may be accessed by removing the 3-D sticker from the display surface. The 3-D sticker, due to its rigid structure and the materials selected for its construction, retains its shape during the process of removing or repositioning the sticker.